Blogs and Commentary

Report: WD1 Tourney Could Expand to 24 Teams

The NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament could expand
from 16 teams to 24 as soon as spring 2013, according to report
Thursday by The Baltimore Sun.

The expansion has been approved by the Division I championship
and sports management cabinet, but must pass through several layers
of approval, including the budget committee, before it becomes
reality.

The reason for the proposed expansion, according to NCAA
associate director or championships and alliances D'Ann Keller, is
to make sure all conferences that are eligible to receive an
automatic qualifying bid to the tournament are actually getting an
AQ in the tournament. Currently, only five conference winners
– from the ACC, Big East, ALC, America East and Ivy League
– automatically make the field. The other six AQs advance to
play-in games.

An NCAA bylaw states that 50 percent of the bracket must be
filled with at-large bids, forcing some automatic qualifiers to
play play-in games to get into the 16-team field. And with the
growing number of Division I programs over the next couple of
years, the number of conferences with automatic qualifiers could
increase, leading to potentially more play-in games if the bracket
is not expanded.

In 2012, there will be 92 women's lacrosse teams competing in
Division I. In 2013, the sport is expected to reach 101
participants with the addition of Southern California, Marquette,
Delaware State, Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, Stetson, Campbell and
Kennesaw State. In 2014, Mercer (Ga.) University's team will debut
with Colorado, and in 2015, Furman (S.C.) University's varsity
team will debut.